Prisoner
by RiceKrispie
Summary: Caught during an attempt to infiltrate a Neo Arcadian reploid disposal facility, Zero struggles to escape from his captors and complete his mission, while also freeing his soul from the burdens of a painful past.
1. Chapter 1

**Part 1: Prisoner**

The train hummed quietly along the tracks.

The only door on the armoured car opened, the orange light of the setting sun outlining the figure of a heavyset man, his orange and black combat armour gleaming with polish, a rifle the size of a small dog slung over his shoulder. The four blue Pantheon guards regarded him coldly with their single red eye, and after registering his identity, raised their hands in salute instead of their guns. Something about their raptor-like, unblinking gaze always made the captain uneasy; he stiffly returned the salute as he suppressed the urge to shudder.

"Commander ordered a visual inspection." He gestured toward the solemn red reploid chained to the wall. The inspection was more procedure than necessity; every reploid prisoner was given a viral program which, when triggered, would set them into a permanent "sleep" mode until the program was terminated externally. It was highly unlikely that the prisoner would cause any trouble while under the effects of the virus, but orders were orders, and with a prisoner like this, they couldn't be too careful.

"So this is the living legend himself," the captain said as he looked Zero up and down, his voice filled with contempt. He had never actually seen Zero before, only heard stories from fellow soldiers; stories had a tendency to be greatly exaggerated. Some said he was over ten feet tall, clad in blood red battle armour, wielding a great glowing sword that could cut through eight men in a single swipe; others claimed he didn't even exist, that it was all just a cover-up for the Neo Arcadian army's blunders. Personally, the captain didn't put too much faith in any of them. He was the kind of man who would rather wait for a chance to see things for himself before deciding whether Zero was someone to be afraid of or not.

He certainly didn't look very impressive at the moment, chained to the side of the car, slumped against the wall like a common prisoner. Zero had put up quite the fight before he was captured, and it was reflected in his appearance. The bright crimson of his armour barely showed through the layers of dirt, while several pieces were chipped or broken off, and he was covered in scratches and bruises. At first the captain had taken the stories of Zero's fighting abilities as mere exaggerations, but after seeing him in action, he thought there may have been a grain of truth to them after all. Zero fought like a demon possessed on the battlefield, cutting through the Arcadian forces like a tornado. He wouldn't have believed it either if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes – it was easy to understand why Zero had been considered a hero in ages past.

But here he was now, bound to the wall, awaiting his execution like any other Maverick. It was only a matter of time before he was retired; not even legends could escape the might of Neo Arcadia and the venerable Three Guardians.

"It's too bad you won't be awake for the end." The captain stood over Zero and grinned maliciously, giving him a little kick. "I'd love to hear a legend beg for mercy, but I guess just watching you die will have to suffice."

Much to the captain's surprise, Zero's head rose and looked him straight in the eye.

"Sorry to disappoint on both accounts."

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Zero closed his eyes as he slid a small flash bomb from his hidden arm panel into his hand and activated it. A bright flash filled the room, momentarily blinding the captain and overloading the optic sensors of the four Pantheons. The captain stumbled backward toward the door, grabbing hold of the frame to keep from stumbling off the side of the car.

"What the bloody hell?" The captain yelled, rubbing his eyes with one hand and readying his rifle with the other. "You're supposed to be turned off!"

The virus program they'd injected him with had been quite nasty, but it had only taken Zero a few moments to figure out how it worked and neutralize it. Since he was designed such a long time ago, the program didn't affect his systems the way it would have those of a modern reploid. After disarming it, he used it to make himself appear deactivated while, in truth, he still had full control over his systems.

Zero activated the little beam saber he'd stashed in his other arm panel and cut through his chains where they met the wall, then lunged at the closest guard, thrusting his saber through its chest. He spun around and cleaved through another Pantheon in a shower of sparks before the captain recovered and the Pantheons could recalibrate their optics.

"Shoot him, SHOOT HIM!" The captain bellowed, firing his plasma rifle. The remaining two guards quickly followed suit.

Zero moved like a lightning bolt, bouncing off the walls and ceiling as he dodged and weaved around the incoming fire. After easily evading the initial rounds, Zero activated his dash thrusters and shoulder charged the closest guard, sending it sprawling. Before he and the Pantheon hit the ground, Zero grabbed the guard's blaster with his free hand and pushed off the floor with the other, spinning through the air, extended saber still drawn. Firing only a few quick shots, he blew away the midsection of the guard he'd tackled and the head of the one who remained standing. He landed neatly on the ground opposite the shaking captain.

"What kind of reploid are you?!" The captain screamed as his rifle fired another volley of plasma.

Zero's saber spun through the air, deflecting the captain's onslaught with incredible precision and accuracy. He reflected one blast back at the captain, hitting him square in the chest. The captain's combat armour absorbed the energy, but the impact stunned him for a moment.

A moment was all the opening Zero needed. He leapt over the captain's head, landed directly behind him, and smashed him in the head with the hilt of his saber. The captain fell to his knees, dropping his weapon as he clutched his head with a pained cry. He tried to get up, but instead received another punishing blow in the back that knocked him across the room, where he slammed into the far wall. Before he could move, the green blade of light was at his throat, and Zero's face only a hand's breadth from his nose.

Moments passed as Zero stood motionless over the captain. He could see the fear and terror in the man's eyes as he waited for the end to come.

For a moment, Zero began to doubt himself. This man didn't need to die for his mission to be successful. Why should he have to die if there was no reason for it? What did he do to deserve death?

_He watched and did nothing as innocent reploids were declared Mavericks without proof or reason and sent to be retired. He deserves no more mercy than he gave them. That is the reason he deserves to die._

"I do not beg for mercy," Zero said with hardened resolve, though there was a touch of regret in his voice. "I beg for forgiveness, for what I must do."

The captain died without a sound.

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Zero stood ready, his saber drawn, as the door of the command car slid open. Glancing inside, he saw three Pantheon guards and one human, who he assumed was the commander. Dressed in a standard issue blue and white military uniform, the commander stood a head taller than the Pantheons and had a small pistol slung in his belt. Zero supposed that, to most people, the man might seem rather intimidating. To Zero, he was just another enemy.

The commander seemed to be looking at one of the various monitors of the computer bank along the far wall. From where Zero was standing he could see some text on the screen, but he couldn't make out what it said. _Probably orders for my execution_, Zero thought grimly. Before he could examine the room further, the commander turned around.

"What took you so long? I didn't…" The unfinished sentence hung in the air as the commander saw Zero standing in the doorway, not the captain he'd undoubtedly been expecting. Fear tinged his voice as he yelled, "You're supposed to be deactivated! Stop him! STOP HIM!"

The commander whipped out his pistol and started firing wildly at the door. The three Pantheons quickly complied with their commander's orders, pointing their machine guns at the doorway and letting loose with a deadly barrage of plasma bullets.

Zero kept his calm as he leapt sideways off of the catwalk and swung his saber, burying the weapon up to the hilt in the side of the command car. Bringing his free arm around to grasp the hilt as he swung in the open air, he hung on tightly as his feet dangling a mere few feet over the ground. If he were to lose his grip on his improvised handhold, he would meet a quick death as he hit the rails below and every car in the train ran him over.

_Not even Cerveau would be able to repair me after that, _Zero remarked to himself, picturing the old Resistance mechanic in his mind. Cerveau had fixed up Zero's systems more times than he could count, but the old reploid wasn't a miracle worker. _I guess I could have planned this out a bit better._

Zero quickly pulled himself up the side of the car and over the top, pulling the saber out of the wall below him. Stepping lightly, he moved to the center of the car, trying his best not to give away his position to the four Arcadians below. Zero pulled out the blaster he'd taken from the Pantheon in his prison car, charged it in his hand, and fired at the center of the car's steel roof. The weapon unleashed a blast powerful enough to blow a hole through the top of the car; unfortunately, the blaster hadn't been designed to discharge such a large amount of energy and it shorted out with a fizzle. Zero glanced briefly at the melted barrel of the useless weapon before he tossed it aside, drew his beam saber, then dropped into the car below.

The three guards and the commander were lying prone about the room, knocked back by the force of the exploding ceiling and not yet recovered. Zero used his moment of surprise to land safely and, not wasting his precious moments of time, rush up to one of the pantheons and impale the unlucky drone. He then turned to face his remaining opponents, weapon ready.

The commander had regained his feet and started to raise his pistol, barking panicked orders. "Friggin' hells! Kill him! Kill hi-" the commander's voice cut off as Zero threw his extended saber like a dart, piercing the man's neck. It stuck out the other side and pinned the gurgling captain to the wall for a few moments before the saber shorted out with a crackle. The commander's body went limp and slid to the floor, a red stain trailing down the wall after it as it fell.

Before the Pantheons could unload again, Zero threw himself at the one on his left, rolling into a ball as he tumbled between its legs. The other Pantheon turned and fired, but succeeded only in riddling its partner with bullet holes. Zero grabbed onto the injured Pantheon's gun and, with a swift kick in the back, sent the drone flying across the room into its comrade, knocking them both to the ground. A few rounds from the Pantheon's weapon put the two drones out of commission for good.

Having dispatched the enemy, Zero went to the computer bank the commander had been using and, after finding the communications panel, keyed in a special frequency. "This is Zero. Mission proceeding on schedule. Prepare for phase three and evacuation."

After a short silence a female voice crackled over the radio. "Message received, Zero. Proceed with phase three, and be careful. We don't know the defensive capabilities of the facility, nor do we know how many troops they have stationed.

"We had a sympathizer stash the supplies you requested under a floor panel near the command console. T minus twelve minutes, so get moving."

"Acknowledged."

"Good luck, Zero. Transmission over."

It didn't take long to find the floor panel and he quickly pried it away, finding a small backpack below. Tossing the Pantheon gun aside, Zero opened the pack and pulled out his Z-Saber and Z-Buster. They had been too large for him to conceal while he was captured, so he'd had them stashed on the train with the rest of the supplies. "Nothing like your own weapons to do the job right," he said to himself as he tucked them in place.

Reaching farther inside the backpack, Zero pulled out a small metal box. Flipping the top open, he saw that it contained a dozen small black objects no bigger than his thumb. Nodding in approval, he reached into the bottom of the backpack and pulled out a small silver remote with a big red button. Zero smiled as he stashed it away, and then took the final and likely most important item from the backpack: a small grey chip no bigger than a human fingernail, with a single green light blinking on the top the only indication it was active – a portable transponder. Zero attached it near the top of his right arm before standing up.

As Zero turned, his gaze caught on the body of the dead commander. He had made a split second decision to throw his saber, but doubt once again crept into his mind. Had it really been necessary to kill the man in order for his mission to be successful? Did the commander really deserve to die like that?

_Who gave me the right to be the ultimate judge, jury, and executioner? What makes me so much better than them that they had to give their lives so that I might continue living?_

Zero dismissed the thought with a shake of his head. He would have time to think these things over later; right now he had a job to do, and not much time to do it in.

He opened the metal box and placed one of the black devices on the wall beside him, then headed back down the train to do the same to the other cars.

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Zero knelt on top of the command car - three cars back from the front of the train - and waited, his saber jammed into the roof, acting as an anchor against the winds rushing past as the train accelerated. It would only be a few minutes before the train reached its destination: the Neo Arcadian prison camp and site of the new disposal facility, built into the side of a natural rock face.

After losing control of the disposal center near the Resistance base, the Guardians had wasted no time in ordering a new one built on the other side of Neo Arcadia. Despite the Resistance's best efforts, reploids were still being taken by the Arcadian forces and sent to be retired. Both Zero and Ciel had agreed that the new facility had to be put out of commission, and quickly.

Security around the new building was tight, making intelligence hard to acquire. After several days of watching Ciel try and devise a strategy for its destruction, Zero decided to take his own approach: hit it hard, and hit it fast. With any luck, the facility would be destroyed and Zero would be safely returned to the Resistance base before Neo Arcadia even knew he was there.

_"Just let them capture me and I'll work out the details as I go."_ Zero couldn't help but shake his head at his own arrogance. _Seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that I'm actually doing it, it seems incredibly reckless and stupid_.

The train sped along the track, and after a few minutes the disposal facility winked into view on the horizon. It wasn't long before Zero could make out the details given by satellite images. First he saw the main gate, the only path into the inner staging yard; a semicircular area of desert about a kilometre in front of the facility. The entire area was closed off by a massive wall, which scans had indicated was capable of withstanding blasts stronger than anything the Resistance could dish up. There were observation posts at various points along the wall, although reports indicated they weren't fully functional yet. There were also several autocannon installations at various points along the walls – they were camouflaged well enough that they hadn't been able to pinpoint them with scans, and Zero couldn't see any as the train approached.

A protective field around the facility prevented the transponder in his helmet from sending or receiving signals – the portable transponder stuck to his arm was his way around that. After a set time, it would send him back to a preset destination – in this case, the Resistance base. Getting into the facility had been another hurtle to overcome, which had resulted in his plan to get captured. What better way to gain access to the prison facility than as a prisoner?

Zero set the timer on the transponder for fifteen minutes – three more minutes to reach his destination, and twelve minutes to demolish it. He figured if he couldn't get the place to go up in twelve minutes he wasn't likely to – and he would undoubtedly be in over his head by then.

_Because I'm not in deep enough already…_Zero couldn't help but wonder how he always got himself into these situations.

_Because you believe in them, and they believe in you, and you'll do everything you can to make sure you don't let them down. When an obstacle comes, you will eliminate it._

Zero cleared his thoughts and concentrated as the front gate of the disposal facility approached at incredible speed. The timing of the next part of his plan was critical; being off by even a microsecond would mean failure, and a very quick death.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2: Conflict**

"Prison train approaching, identification code 38-A. Still no radio confirmation," the monotone voice of the main computer announced. Leviathan stood nearby, watching the train approach on a monitor with his arms crossed.

"Something's gone wrong," she said, shaking her head. "We should have known Zero wouldn't allow himself to be captured so easily. It must have been a trick."

"If Zero really has taken over the train that just means he's got some fight left in him!" Fefnir stood beside her grinning, pointing his guns at the screen. "Bring him on, I say. Been a while since we had a good little spat, doncha think?" He pretended to fire off a few shots at the image and make exploding sounds with his mouth.

Leviathan shot him an icy glare of contempt. "There are bigger things to think about than what YOU want, Fefnir. This center took a great deal of resources to build; we can't afford to lose it just so you can entertain yourself with Zero." With a mischievous smile, she added, "Although I do happen to agree, it would be fun, wouldn't it?" She leaned forward and pushed a button on the control panel. "Units 1, 3, 8 and 12, deploy to the train yard and prepare for containment. Seal the front gate until further notice."

"Always were ruinin' my fun..." Fefnir grumbled as he sat down in one of the command chairs and put his feet up on the console. He gazed out through the window covering the length of the wall, looking for the first glimpse of the train as it came into view. The command room was built high up in the rock face, doubling as an observation post for the train yard below and beyond the main gates.

_What's your plan now, Zero? _Leviathan thought. _You may be strong, but there's still only one of you._

From past experience, however, she knew that by himself, Zero was more of a threat to the disposal facility than the entire Resistance force combined. The four Pantheon units she'd sent to the train yard probably wouldn't be enough; she and Fefnir would undoubtedly have to go down to the yard and deal with him themselves.

Not that she had a problem with that.

In the time since Zero's revival, Neo Arcadia had suffered its heaviest losses to date. Zero posed the single greatest threat to Neo Arcadian rule in recent history; no one had ever opposed them with any degree of success until he came along. Ciel's Resistance had been the most successful so far, and even they had been about to be crushed when Zero appeared and turned the tables.

Personally, Leviathan was enjoying the entire situation. Zero's abilities were far beyond that of any modern reploid, despite being built over a hundred years ago. Nothing excited her more than matching her skills against his in battle; nobody challenged her like he did. Leviathan had lost every encounter they'd had, but that only pushed her on to fight harder, until the day she could defeat him. Anticipation of their next encounter was what drove her to better herself and improve her skills, constantly striving to be the best she could be. Leviathan was a warrior; nothing gave her more satisfaction than a true test of her skills, and she knew Zero felt the same.

And besides, he was a rather handsome reploid. She couldn't help but present him with her best.

Turning her attention back to the matter at hand, Leviathan attempted to puzzle out what Zero's strategy might be. He undoubtedly had one – Zero was anything but stupid. After a few moments of deep thought, an idea came to mind. "Display the prison train's distance from the base," she said to the computer.

A small numeric display appeared and began rapidly counting down. Seven thousand meters, six thousand, five thousand…the train was speeding up.

"What's the standard procedure for an approaching train?" Leviathan asked Fefnir, who was still lounging in the command chair, pouting that he wouldn't get the first shot at Zero.

"Ten meters per second, then they slow down pretty quickly around three thousand." Fefnir gave her a questioning look. "Why?"

Realization sparked in Leviathan's eyes as the train continued to accelerate past the three thousand meter mark. "Oh my, he's going to..."

It was too late to do anything but watch. A smile spread across her lips. "Zero, you little devil."

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The train collided at top speed with the front gate, and the air was filled with the scream of tearing metal as the huge blast doors were ripped in two. The two halves of the door and the now-derailed train cars skidded through the train yard in every direction, colliding with other trains and construction equipment, as well as wiping out the Pantheon units Leviathan had sent to "contain" Zero. Soon explosions and aftershocks rocked the base as train cars collided and detonated all over the yard like dominos, causing mass mayhem and destruction.

And above it all, one lone reploid sailed over the chaos like a rocket, on a trajectory headed directly into the window of the command room.

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Leviathan let out a mad cackle as she felt the train collide with the front gates. "Oh Zero, you certainly do know how to get a woman's attention!"

"What in blazes are you talking about?!" Fefnir yelled as he stood up, having been knocked from his chair. "Have you totally lost your-", he cut off as something outside caught his attention. "Incoming debris!" He readied his cannons at the window as a small red piece of metal flew towards them, ready to blow it apart. He was caught completely by surprise when the "debris" unfolded and started shooting energy blasts, one of which came through the window and hit him in the chest, the surprise stunning him.

"What the hell-" was all Fefnir managed to say before Zero crashed through the window and collided with him, sending them both flying through the back wall, rock and dust falling from the ceiling behind them. After hearing the two reploids collide with the far side of the corridor, Leviathan let out another hysterical laugh.

"Such an impressive entrance, Zero! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to impress me." Leviathan stepped carefully through the dust and debris to peer through the hole in the wall, and saw Zero curled into a ball in the pit of an unconscious Fefnir's stomach. She smiled and shook her head. "If you wanted some company, all you had to do was ask."

"I don't have time for you," Zero said as he whipped out his Z-Buster and fired several shots at Leviathan, who ducked quickly out of harm's way.

"Tsk tsk, my dear Zero, is that any way to treat a lady?" She poked her head back around the corner, only to find Zero no longer there. She squealed in glee.

"Oh, I do so love it when they run," she said as she chased after him.

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Zero ran down the narrow corridors as fast as he could, taking random turns in an attempt to shake Leviathan off his trail. He had suspected that at least one of the Guardians might be overseeing the construction of the base, but two of them could have presented a problem; luckily, he didn't think Fefnir was going to be in any shape to be a threat to his mission.

Long-range energy readouts of the building had shown the location of the central energy core deep within the mountainside, but he didn't see many hallways leading inward – only stairs leading downward. Zero ran through corridors and leapt down staircases as he quickly made his way through the facility.

As planned, the commotion caused by the crashed train outside kept most of the Arcadian personnel occupied, so Zero had relatively few contacts in the hallways; those he did have were often solved with a quick saber swipe. He also ran into a few automated defenses, but they were handled just as easily.

_Unfortunately, I'm leaving a nice trail of wreckage for Leviathan to follow._

The transponder on his arm beeped, warning him he had only ten minutes left before it activated and sent him back to the Resistance base. The entire mission would be pointless if he was returned before completing his goal.

Zero turned into a hallway that ended with a door. Most of the doors in the facility were locked with a security key card, which was why he'd been avoiding them – this one was no exception. The lock was extremely simple, obviously not protecting anything overly important. All it took was one saber swipe and the two halves of the lock fell to the floor with a clang. Zero slammed his shoulder into the door with a crash, trying to force it open. On the third slam it popped open, and Zero spilled out into the area beyond.

Instead of another small corridor like the ones he'd been running through, Zero found himself in a large tunnel formed from the natural rock, about thirty feet high and forty feet across. On his right he could see light reflecting off the top of a train car that had managed to slide its way into the mouth of the tunnel, and six tracks that lead all the way down the length of the tunnel to a large gate far down the tunnel on his left. There were several carts stopped at various points along the tracks, and he could tell by the luminescent glow coming from them that they contained energy crystals.

_The carts must have stopped when the train crashed, and the only place they'd be taking that many crystals would be the core._ Zero dashed off to his left, towards the gate.

As he raced down the length of the tunnel, a low whimpering noise coming from an overturned cart caught Zero's attention. Further investigation revealed a reploid hiding beneath it, his red and white civilian clothing in a horrid state of disrepair. It looked like the man hadn't cleaned himself in weeks, and there were signs of wear and tear around his knee and elbow joints resulting from a lack of proper maintenance. The man was squirming back and forth trying to free his leg, which had been caught beneath the cart as it spilled over. Judging by his civilian design, Zero doubted the man had the strength to lift the cart on his own.

_He must have been sent here for "retirement", and then given the option of helping to maintain the disposal unit, or being thrown into it._

The reploid looked up as Zero came into view and his eyes widened in surprise, then he threw his arms up in a measly attempt to protect himself. "Please don't shoot me, please, I didn't mean to…"

"Shut up and stop whining," Zero said as he grabbed onto the bottom of the cart. He was built with considerably more strength than a civilian model, and he tossed the cart off to the side with a single heave.

The man's leg was mangled, but not beyond repair. Aside from that, and the lack of maintenance he'd noticed before, the man seemed to be all right. "What are you doing in here?" Zero asked.

"I maintain the energy carts for the core, that's all I do, they all stopped when the shaking started, I swear I would have gone to fix them but I got stuck…" The man babbled on. Zero cut him off and pointed in the direction of the core.

"Do you know how to get past that gate?"

"N-no! I don't know anything!" His arms shook as they covered his face, obviously terrified. _He thinks I'm Arcadian._ Zero let out a sigh.

"Calm down, I'm not with Neo Arcadia. My name is Zero, and I'm a member of the Resistance. I'm not going to hurt you, but I really need to get in that gate. Now, can you open it for me?"

At the mention of Zero's name, the man stopped shaking and lowered his arms. "Wow, it really is you. I thought I was imagining things. Yes, I snuck a peek at they keypad once while they were opening it and saw the code."

"What is it?"

The man glanced around, making sure this wasn't a trick and there wasn't someone hiding nearby that would jump out and shoot him for knowing something he shouldn't. "Alpha 455-Z," he said quietly.

"Thanks." Zero thought for a moment, and then removed the transponder from his arm. The confused look on the man's face as Zero handed it to him made it obvious he had no idea what it was.

_You're not a hero, stop with the heroics before you get yourself killed._

"Are there any more workers like you?" Zero asked.

"Yes, there are about a dozen of us, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in the tunnel today." The man inspected the device, turning it over in his palm. "What's this?"

"In about eight minutes any reploid in contact with that thing is going to be transported to the Resistance base," Zero replied. "Find as many of the others as you can and get them out of here; this entire base is going to explode shortly afterward." Then he took off down the tunnel at full speed.

"Thank you," the man yelled after him, waving the transponder. Then he limped off in the other direction to find his comrades.

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_You arrogant fool_, Zero thought to himself as he continued down the tunnel. _What were you thinking? You should have known there would already be captured reploids here. You're supposed to be protecting these people, not blowing them to bits. Start thinking before you jump in with both feet or you're going to get innocent people killed._

There was no way Zero could demolish the base and rescue all the workers before his time was up, so giving away his transponder was the only option left to him. He could only hope that the man could find his co-workers amidst the chaos and escape with them to the Resistance base. _And now I need to figure out some way to get myself out of here as well. Dammit Zero, you screwed this one up nicely._

It took less than a minute to dash down the remainder of the tunnel. The gate itself was huge, covering the entire length and breadth of the tunnel, and resembling a huge blast door, similar to the gate he'd crashed the train into. Off to the left, Zero spotted a control panel. He approached it and punched in the code the injured reploid had given him. The gate slowly rose into the ceiling, and Zero dashed under it as soon as it was high enough for him to fit under; he may not be under the time limit of the transponder anymore, but it wouldn't be long before the facility's security personnel finished dealing with the mess he'd made outside and came in after him. Without the transponder to get him out again, he had to move quickly before he was pinned down by more Arcadian troops than even he could handle.

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"What's this, hmm?" Leviathan held the reploid up by his neck with her left hand, using the halberd in her right to tap the device the man was holding. "Who gave you that?"

"N-nobody, I f-found it on the ground…" Leviathan felt a rush of excitement as she saw the fear in the man's eyes.

"Liar!" Leviathan threw the man violently against the wall, hard enough that the impact dented the metal. "The coordinates of that transponder are set to the Resistance base. Where did Zero go?!"

"D-d-down the tunnel…"

Leviathan smiled, one of her cold, cruel smiles. "Ah, of course, he's heading for the energy core." She hoisted the man back up by his neck. "Thanks, you've been VERY helpful," she said before thrusting the end of her halberd through his chest. The blade let out a hiss as it met the warmth of the man's insides. Leviathan grabbed the transponder from his hand as she let his limp figure fall to the ground.

"Silly Zero, you really shouldn't be giving away all your toys like that." With a girlish giggle, Leviathan ran down the tunnel. "I'm coming for you, my dear…"

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The energy core pulsed with the soft glow of electricity as it spun, illuminating a cavern so massive it couldn't have been natural. Similar in appearance to a giant turbine, the core would take energy crystals and release the stored electricity, then send it to a nearby battery where it would be stored until needed by the disposal facility's systems. In particular, the disposal system itself required a large amount of stored power to run, and thus consumed a large number of crystals.

Zero took out the metal box he'd gotten from the pack on the train, opened it up, and took out the last of the small black devices. He placed it on the side of the flow regulator - the part that ensured there wasn't an overflow of energy heading from the core into the battery. Without the regulator, it would only take a few minutes before the battery would overload and explode, setting off a chain reaction that would leave a smoking crater where the facility now stood.

_And killing everyone inside. How many innocent lives are you willing to sacrifice to stop Neo Arcadia before it becomes too many? Where are you going to draw the line, Zero? You've already killed two people getting this far, and you gave away your transponder to try and save those workers, but how many people aren't going to be able to make it out? How are YOU going to make it out of here?_

"I really should have brought a second transponder…" Zero mumbled to himself.

"You mean like this one?" Zero whirled around to see Leviathan standing in the gateway, tossing and catching his transponder in one hand, her halberd in the other. "Some silly reploid was running around with this thing, I could only assume it was yours." She threw the device to the ground and stepped on it, and with a loud crunch, Zero knew it was useless. "You know, if you keep trying to play the hero, you're eventually going to get yourself killed." Leviathan flashed another of her wicked grins. "Maybe even today!"

Zero could only spare a brief thought for the reploid he'd given the transponder to before Leviathan rushed him, halberd raised. He barely had time to extend his saber and deflect her thrust to the side before it removed his head. There was a sharp hiss as the blades of their weapons clashed and steam rose from the subzero tip of Leviathan's weapon.

"Oooh, you're teasing me Zero, that was a close one," Leviathan cooed as she pulled back for another thrust. "But I do hate missing." This time the halberd launched at his midsection. Zero easily dodged to the side, and then parried as she swung the weapon around after him. "Come on, try a little harder!" She yelled.

Zero quickly retreated to the far side of the room and waited with his saber poised, ready to react to her next attack.

_That halberd of hers is giving her an advantage up close like this, but if I use my buster I'm likely to hit the core and blow us both to hell…_which gave him an idea.

_I really must be determined to kill myself._

"Come on Zero, don't you want to cuddle before I blow you to bits?" Leviathan taunted from across the room. "I promise I won't bite…but this might!" She made a throwing motion with her halberd and launched a serpent-shaped lance of ice at him. Zero jumped to avoid it, only to find Leviathan already waiting for him in the air above. She made a vicious downward slash which he managed to deflect, but he didn't see her bring the other end of the halberd back around until it was too late. It smashed him in the back, and the ground rushed toward him as he recovered from the blow. A quick blast from his dash thrusters and he landed on his feet, but the force of the fall forced him to one knee. He looked up just in time to see Leviathan diving toward him, holding her halberd like a lance. He rolled to one side to avoid being impaled, and sprang to his feet just in time to meet Leviathan's next assault.

"Oh come on, you're not even trying!" Excitement filled Leviathan's voice as she unleashed a series of wicked slashes and thrusts at blinding speed, pushing Zero's skills to the limit. "I know you can do better than this!" Her eyes grew wide with anticipation as she wore him down with her rapid attacks.

Sensing Leviathan's overconfidence, Zero seized the opportunity. Rather than deflecting a thrust aimed at his head, he instead dropped to his knees. The attack went over him and he heard a surprised gasp from Leviathan as she overextended herself. Zero fired his dash thrusters and charged forward, knocking her backward in a tackle. He pushed Leviathan away, and then swung his saber downward with all his strength. Leviathan barely got her halberd up in time to deflect the blow, but the force of it sent her back several feet, where she slammed against the flow regulator and collapsed onto the floor. Zero panted as he watched her pick herself up off the ground.

"Getting a little rough now, aren't we? You know I like it when you do that." Leviathan grinned and readied herself for another attack. "Ready for more?"

"You need to stop talking now." Zero pulled out the small remote detonator from his supplies.

"Hmm, what's that? Another toy, Zero? It's not like you to ruin a fair fight with those gadgets of yours. I know you enjoy this as much as I do." Leviathan waved her halberd back forth eagerly. "Now come on, it's not nice to keep a lady waiting."

"You're about to get one hell of a headache," Zero replied, as he pushed the button on the detonator.

A puzzled look spread across Leviathan's face as a beeping noise came from the wall near her head. She turned and saw a flashing red light from something small and black on the wall, followed by a loud roar as her vision was filled with white.

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Zero shielded his eyes as the blast from the exploding flow regulator knocked him flying across the room, skidding to a halt near the gate. He could also feel the shocks from the other explosives he'd planted on the cars of the prison train as they detonated as well. A siren wailed and a robotic voice announced over the intercom, "Core regulator damaged, battery overload imminent. Evacuate immediately. Core regulator damaged, battery overloaded imminent. Evacuate immediately…" The core room gate began to descend, designed to shut the core off from the base in the event of a core overload.

"Guess it's time I made my exit." Zero pushed himself to his feet and headed for the exit, but froze in mid-step.

_You can't just leave her there. Dammit Zero, you can't save everybody, but you're going to try anyway._

Still cursing himself, Zero ran over to the ruined regulator where he found Leviathan, thrown against the wall by the blast, severely damaged and unconscious. A quick scan showed she wasn't beyond repair, so he lifted her over his shoulder and ran for the gate. He barely made it under before the gate sealed shut behind him.

_You damned fool reploid, you even protect the ones who are trying to kill you._

Zero ran as fast as he could down the tunnel, burdened as he was. He stumbled and almost fell several times as explosions rocked the base and carried through the solid earth, explosions which became increasingly intense as the power surges from the overloading battery caused more and more of the base's systems to overload.

Upon getting closer to the exit, he saw that the train car he'd seen blocking the passage must have been one of the cars from the prison train, and when he'd detonated the bomb on board the explosion had caused a cave-in, shutting off his intended escape route. He swore and headed for the passage he'd originally used to enter the tunnel.

Zero had to dodge around several reploids as he made his way through the hallways, but they were all too busy to pay him any attention. Within a few minutes he arrived back in the command room with the broken window.

_All right, now what do you do, genius? You've got fifty meters to drop and an unconscious Guardian slung over your shoulder. You might be tough, but you're not invincible._

Before he could come up with a solution, he heard the sound of a charged buster behind him, followed by Fefnir's voice yelling, "Drop her or die, bastard!"

Zero turned to regard the hotheaded Guardian. It was immediately obvious that he wasn't in any sort of shape to be making threats - his left arm was smashed beyond use, and the charged blaster on his right arm looked like it was about to explode with its own energy. One of his legs didn't seem to be working very well either, as he was leaning heavily on the doorframe.

_He knows he can't win, so he's bluffing. I guess he took that collision even harder than I thought. Well, at least this solves one problem._

"Fine, take her." Zero threw Leviathan's limp body at Fefnir, who quickly had to choose between keeping his buster trained on Zero and catching the unconscious Guardian. He chose the latter, and as he tried to put her down and get aim at Zero again, he was interrupted. "Don't bother; I'm not here to fight you. I suggest you get yourselves away from here, in another minute or two that battery is going to overload and blow this place off the face of the planet." He ran to the window and jumped, calling out behind him, "Besides, it wouldn't be a fair fight with you injured like that." Then he was gone into the chaos of the train yard below.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Fefnir's first instinct was to jump out the window in pursuit, but he knew Zero was right. The shock of landing from this height could cause irreparable harm to his already damaged mobility systems, and he could tell from the ominous shudders going through the mountain that Zero's prediction about the battery was true. He held tightly to Leviathan as he triggered their transponder chips, transporting them safely away to Neo Arcadia.

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Zero rolled as he hit the ground to soften the landing, but he winced as the shock of falling fifty meters ran up his legs. _No time to check for damage,_ he thought as he sprang out of the roll and hit the ground running, looking for something that he could use to escape the base. He needed to put distance between himself and the mountain - even if he did escape the blast, he'd be just as dead if a chunk of the mountainside landed on him.

A Pantheon on a hoverbike approached, and Zero timed a jump to land on the back of the vehicle. Caught completely by surprise, Zero's saber easily decapitated it and he kicked the body off the side, then took residence in the driver's seat and hit the accelerator. He raced past ruined train cars and barely avoided collisions with several groups of crab-shaped worker drones as he headed through the sandy yard to the remains of the outer gate. He met no resistance as he left the base perimeter and raced full speed into the desert – even the autocannons were offline.

Only moments later, a bright light flashed behind him. Zero looked over his shoulder and saw a huge mushroom cloud where the base had been only moments ago.

Suddenly the bike cut out beneath him and went crashing into the sands, sending Zero head over heels into a high-speed flight through the air. _Oh hell, I forgot about the EMP._

As he somersaulted uncontrollably through the evening air he caught a glimpse behind him and saw a towering wall of earth and rock being driven toward him by the blast's sonic shockwave. It was the last thing he saw before the back of his head collided painfully with a rock and the world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3: Guilt**

"Are you getting any readings?" Ciel yelled frantically to the pilot over the roar of the shuttle engines. "He has to be out here somewhere!"

"Affirmative, we've just picked up Zero's signal, five hundred meters north-northeast. We probably didn't see it earlier because it looks like it's about ten meters below the surface, and even this close it's coming in extremely weak."

"We have to hurry! If Zero was buried and he hasn't dug himself out yet, he's probably injured!"

"We're going as fast as we can Ms. Ciel, but his transponder isn't functioning, it must have been damaged. Luckily we've got the equipment we need on board to dig him out of there. Just hold tight and we'll have Zero on the shuttle in no time at all."

The captain's assurances didn't do much for Ciel's nerves. Her fingers started to hurt as she gripped tightly to her chair.

_Hold on Zero, we're coming..._

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"Are you sure you don't want to send out a squad to intercept?" The commander asked.

Harpuia's glare made him immediately wish that he hadn't said anything. "Are you questioning my orders?"

"N-no sir, certainly not! I just thought it seemed like a perfect opportunity to-"

"It's not your job to think! It's your job to carry out my orders!" Harpuia raged. "Now get out of my sight before I find someone else more capable of doing so!"

The commander left his dignity behind as he ran from the room as fast as he could. Harpuia turned back to the monitor and continued to observe as the Resistance soldiers dug Zero out of the ground. Fefnir had related the most interesting story of how Zero had spared him and Leviathan. They were both making speedy recoveries and would be fully functional within a day.

"You returned my brother and sister to me, ancient one, and now, I spare those close to you. Warrior to warrior, this debt is paid."

Harpuia turned off the monitor and left the room, deep in his own thoughts.

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"We've got him Ms. Ciel, we've got him!"

"Bring him in, quickly! Pilot, prepare for takeoff!"

The digging unit drove up the ramp into the shuttle, carrying the limp form of Zero in its pincers. It sat him down gently on the floor of the shuttle as they took off for the Resistance base. Ciel wasted no time in pulling out her scanning tools to assess the damage as Zero remained motionless.

"Deep fractures in the cranial plating, shock damage to just about every part of his outer frame..." Ciel released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "He's okay. There doesn't seem to be any serious damage, he's just unconscious. He should be fine after we get him to the lab for-"

Ciel was cut off midsentence as Zero let out an ear-piercing howl and clutched the sides of his head. Stunned, Ciel watched as Zero's face contorted in pain and the howl became steadily more intense. Unsure of what was happening, but seeing how much Zero was suffering, Ciel started to panic.

The howl cut off as abruptly as it started as Zero began to thrash around wildly. His hands still pressed against the sides of his head, Zero began speaking in panicked gasps, terror and pain reflected in his voice.

"Not happening, this isn't happening, not again…run, please, stay away…no, stop, don't! DON'T! No, not again, please, stay away…" Nothing he said seemed to make any sense, and he kept repeating the same phrases over again.

"Ms. Ciel, what's wrong with Zero?" The pilot yelled back.

"I don't know, I don't know!" Ciel cried, horrified at what was happening. "Zero, what's going on?! What's wrong with you?!"

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He could see their faces, all of them, every detail burned into his robotic memory, remembered with the precision of a machine. He could see them as their bodies were crushed by his fists, blood oozing across his hands, drenching his crimson armor, pooling at his feet as he shook with joyous laughter. He heard every cry of pain, every wail of despair, every scream of agony and terror he'd ever caused, and relished it. He used it to fuel more hatred as he rampaged through towns, cities, and homes, leaving nothing but carnage and destruction in his wake. All fled before him, but none escaped. The few who fought were crushed like the flies they were, overwhelmed by his power.

_Blood…their blood…the blood of all the innocent people I killed…_

He remembered the power, the feel of it. He relished the knowledge that he held every life in the palm of his hand, and the ability to crush it on a whim. He felt sheer joy as power surged through his body, pressing him onward, forward, to use his power over life and death as he saw fit. There were none worthy of survival, they were all beneath him; they deserved nothing but death, and he would gladly bring it to them.

_It's everywhere, I can't get it off, why won't it come off, there's too much…_

Zero howled in terror as scene after scene flashed past his eyes, each one an echo of the last, a helpless spectator to his own memories, forced to watch as the blood of countless innocent lives, both reploid and human, washed over his white hands, staining them a shade of red he could never remove. He screamed in despair as he felt feelings that he knew had been his, feelings of anger and hatred at everything that lived, and feelings of happiness and joy when he mercilessly cut them down. He cried out helplessly as he watched death stalk the lands of the living, a machine dedicated to slaughter, unstoppable and uncaring as it killed without a second thought.

_Please, stop…so much blood, I can't…_

He let out a broken sob as he was forced to remember them all. He burned their homes to the ground, snuffed out their lives like candles. Nothing matched the sheer exhilaration of feeling fresh blood pour over his hands, the warmth as it trickled through his fingers. It was as though he could feel their lives slowly dripping away through his fingers.

_No more, please, just stop! STOP!_

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"STOP IT!"

Ciel jerked back in surprise at Zero's sudden outburst, when his convulsions suddenly came to a halt. Slowly, he took his hands from the sides of his head and held them palms-up in front of his still-closed eyes, trembling violently, as though terrified of what he saw. He began to whine, his voice full of pain and suffering.

"Blood...their blood...it's everywhere...get it off...so much blood…no, get it off! Please, make it stop!"

"Stop what, Zero, what's wrong, tell me what's wrong!" Ciel yelled frantically, shaking him by the shoulders, trying to snap him out of whatever insane world he was trapped in. "Zero you're scaring me, come back to me Zero! What's going on, what's happening to you!" Suddenly, her eyes grew wide with realization.

_Is he remembering something from his past? Oh Zero, what did you do? What are you remembering? What could possibly cause you so much pain?_

"Zero, please, wake up! Whatever it is, it's over! It's just a memory, it can't hurt you! You're scaring me Zero, stop it!" Tears began to well up Ciel's eyes at seeing Zero tortured by his own thoughts. She'd never felt so completely helpless in her life.

Zero suddenly ceased his howling and shaking, throwing his hands over his eyes. Ciel froze, not sure if it was a reaction to something she'd said or not.

"Stop, no, anything but this…don't make me do it again…no, please, not again…" Zero sobbed.

"Zero...?"Ciel's voice cracked as tears fell down her cheeks. "Please, tell me, what's wrong!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

The dust of the explosion settled and he ran to her. She had never looked so peaceful and serene as she did just then, lying still on the floor, one hand clutched to her chest, the other hanging limply by her side.

_No, not again, not this again…anything but this…_

Her body was cracked and punctured in numerous places, blood and fluids flowing freely from the wounds. He tried to cover the holes with his hands, but red continued to spill out through his fingers and drip onto the cold metal floor. He cried as he felt the life drain out of her into a puddle at his feet.

_I did this._

Her hand grasped his as she spoke her final words in the softest whisper. "I wanted to live there...with you..."

_Nothing she did deserved this. What have I done?_

"...Zero..."

_I did this of my own free will. I'm worse than a maverick._

Her expression was one of calm acceptance, and a small smile spread across her face as she stared into his eyes, then past them, into his heart. A smile that said she forgave him.

_I don't deserve to be forgiven; there is no forgiving what I've become._

He felt her last breaths of life escape her body as she fell limp in his arms. Her eyes closed and her head tilted to the side, no longer supporting its own weight. He gently laid her down on the ground and pulled away, seeing his snow-white hands covered in blood from the wounds he'd inflicted.

_I killed her._

Memories of the time they'd spent together flooded through his mind, all the happiness and joy she'd brought into his life. But it all kept coming back to his bloodstained hands, the hands he'd taken her life with, held out in front of him as proof of his crime. Hundreds, thousands of voices pounded in his mind, the voices of those he'd killed, chanting over and over again, condemning him. "_Murderer, betrayer, deceiver…"_

"This isn't happening!"

_It's true; I'm guilty of it all. I said I would protect her, I promised I would keep her safe, and then I killed her. No...I murdered her. I don't need to be infected by a virus to be a maverick, not even a maverick could do what I've done._

"There's no reason for me to go on…"

_Damn the Repliforce, damn the Maverick Hunters, and most of all, damn the humans who created us all! Nothing was worth this; nothing was worth more than her life..._

"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?!"

He threw back his head and cried out her name, a cry of pain, suffering, and most of all, overwhelming, crushing, guilt.

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After screaming out a name Ciel had never head before, Zero finally collapsed, his head falling into Ciel's lap. Stunned, she instinctively brought his head closer to her breast, as though she were comforting a child.

_Whoever she was, she caused him so much pain, and he's carried the weight of her memory around with him for so many years…what did he do to bring so much guilt upon himself?_

"It's okay Zero, you're back with us now, just stay calm and we'll get you home. I'm right here, don't worry..." She gently stroked his forehead as he clutched at her like an infant in its mother's embrace. It wasn't until they were almost halfway back to the Resistance base, when she noticed her shirt was wet, that she realized Zero was crying.

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Cerveau turned as he noticed Zero stirring in the repair pod. "Ah, you're awake." He pushed the pressure release and the glass pod hatch slid open.

"I guess I hit my head pretty hard." Zero said as he stepped from the pod, rubbing the back of his head. "How long was I unconscious?"

"The disposal facility went up about four hours ago. Been maybe…I don't know, forty minutes since Ciel and her rescue team dragged your sorry butt in here? You weren't horribly damaged, mostly superficial stuff. That crack on the back of your head was the worst of it, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. Ciel was still worried stick about you even though I'd told her I'd have you fixed up in no time. You should probably go check in with her and let her know you're up, you know how she worries over you."

"I'll do that, thanks." Cerveau watched as Zero went out the door and turned toward Ciel's research lab down the hall.

_I wonder if he remembers what happened on the shuttle…_Ciel had told him about Zero's breakdown in case it was caused by some sort of internal system failure, but Cerveau hadn't found anything of the sort. After a moment he shrugged and went back to his work. _Not my place to know._

-----------------------------------------------------------

The door beeped.

"Come in, it's open," Ciel said, not lifting her eyes from her work as she heard the door slide open behind her.

"Cerveau tells me you came and picked me up yourself."

"Zero!" Ciel snapped up her visor and quickly spun her chair around. "You're awake! That was fast, I thought it would be at least a few hours..."

"The damage to my systems was minimal. I imagine you flew the shuttle out as soon as the portable transponder didn't activate at the arranged time."

_Always right down to business…_

"Yes, I figured something must have gone wrong and you might need an evac. It looks like I was right."

"You shouldn't have done that," Zero said sharply.

"What? Why, the base was destroyed..."

"And if you think Neo Arcadia wouldn't send forces to follow up on the incident, you're a fool. They let you rescue me."

Ciel was stunned into silence. "But...you..."

Zero let out a sigh as he slumped and let his gaze sink to the floor. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't speak to you like that. You did what you felt was right, and it saved my life. I should be thanking you, not scolding you."

Immediately, Ciel knew there was something wrong. She'd never seen Zero act so…dejected. _I wonder if it has anything to do with what he remembered..._

Zero quickly regained his composure and continued. "The mission was...a success, the disposal center has been destroyed, along with what I imagine was a rather large portion of their ground forces and resource personnel."

Ciel noticed the pause in his speech. _Something went wrong, and it's still bothering him. Maybe this is all related, somehow..._ "Zero, what happened in the facility? Why didn't you have your transponder?"

There was a long silence; long enough that it made Ciel feel bad for asking. She was about to retract her question when Zero spoke.

"The disposal center wasn't operational yet, but they were forcing a number of captured reploids to do hard labour around the facility." Zero's hands balled up into tight fists at his sides as his gaze dropped to the floor. "I gave my transponder to one and told him to evacuate the others. Leviathan found him, killed him, and took my transponder."

"I...see...so that means..."

"They all died when I blew up the facility."

A small gasp escaped Ciel's lips as she began to piece things together. _I think I get it now._

"Zero, destroying that facility saved hundreds of other reploids from being retired there..."

"That doesn't change the fact that I took the easiest plan I could think of and jumped into it with both feet, with no regard for the consequences to others. I killed those reploids. I didn't think things through and innocent lives suffered and died for it."

_This has happened before._

"Zero, you can't hold yourself personally responsible for every life lost in the war against Neo Arcadia..." _…can you?_

Zero let out a grunt and headed for the door.

_I shouldn't ask, but..._

"Zero…"

He stopped in front of the door. "What?" He asked impatiently.

_I need to know..._

"Who was Iris?"

Ciel saw a look of intense pain wash over Zero's face for a brief moment, before he covered it up with his usual emotionless stare. Seconds seemed like minutes as she gave him time to respond; she wasn't entirely sure that he would. Finally he replied, his voice calm and controlled but obviously strained.

"Iris was a weakness."

After a moment, she understood.

_You loved her, didn't you? And she loved you too, but something happened, and you couldn't save her. That's what it is, isn't it, Zero? You couldn't save her, just like you couldn't save those people at the disposal center. That's what triggered that awful memory._

"I see. I think...I think I understand…" …_why you're always so cold and distant. _"Thank you, Zero…" _…for letting me glimpse your feelings. For letting me see your weakness._

He opened the door and walked into the hallway, but paused with one foot still in the door.

"Ciel," he said, in a voice so low she could barely hear him.

"Yes?"

"I remember what you did in the shuttle."

Ciel's face felt hot as she blushed. "Oh, Zero, I swear, I didn't-"

"Thank you." He walked out the door, leaving Ciel with a confused look at her face, staring at the closed door, unsure of what to think, say, or feel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4: Redemption**

A hurricane of thoughts and emotions swirled through Zero's mind as he walked through the halls of the base, heading for the exit. It felt like the walls were closing in on him; he had to get outside, get somewhere he could think clearly.

When Ciel said her name, it had all come back to him in a rush. All the memories he had of her ran through his mind, over and over again. It had taken every scrap of willpower he could muster not to break out into tears right there in the lab.

_It wouldn't make you feel any better, it wouldn't solve anything, and you'd only scare Ciel even more than you already have. You probably look like an overemotional maniac by now. Get your head together, Zero._

He took a deep breath as he left confines of the Resistance base. The night air was chilly and the air crisp as he sat on a nearby rock outcropping, alone with his thoughts.

_I've caused nothing but pain ever since Ciel brought me back, _he thought to himself. He let his head sink down into his upturned palms. _Everyone hails me as a great hero from the past, some great savior, but at what cost? For every life saved, I've taken another. Why do I keep trying to protect people when it's just going to lead to failure? How many more people are going to die because they trusted me, because they believed I was something I'm not? I couldn't protect anyone back then, and I can't protect anyone now. How many more people have to suffer before the end? How many more times do I have to fail?_

_How many more times do I have to watch her die?_

"I failed you, Iris. I don't deserve to be alive, and I'm not anyone's hero," Zero said to the empty night air.

"I disagree."

Zero looked up in surprise as X's holographic form appeared before him, his cyber-elf body glowing softly above it. "What?"

X walked over and sat on the rock beside Zero. "You failed, but not in the way you think."

"I promised Iris that I would protect her, keep her safe by my side. She trusted me. Then I killed her brother, and when she came for the revenge she deserved, I killed her too. I betrayed and murdered the one I loved." Zero punched the ground, his voice rising in anger. "If I hadn't been so eager to kill first and ask questions later, if I'd just stopped to think about what the hell I was doing, maybe I could have…dammit X, what else is there?" He barely noticed the dull ache in his arm.

X let the dust settle before he replied, his tone level. "You didn't betray anyone. You and Iris both fought for what you believed in."

"What the hell did I believe in then?" Zero yelled back at his friend as he stood up and began pacing back and forth, his arms emphasizing his words. "I thought I was fighting to protect Iris, but then I killed her! What's the point of fighting to protect the world when you have to kill the ones you love for it to exist?!" Zero sat back down on the rock, feeling utterly helpless and defeated.

"You fought Iris because you believed what the Repliforce was doing was wrong; so did she," came X's calm reply.

"Then why was she defending them?!"

"She wasn't defending Repliforce, she was fighting to create a world where the two of you could be together in peace, because that was what she wanted most."

"How could I live in a world that would only exist after killing every human on the face of the planet? How could I live with myself knowing the sacrifices that had been made? How could she fight for something like that?"

"Because she didn't care what happened to the humans. She didn't care what happened to the Repliforce, or the Maverick Hunters either, for that matter. All she cared about was what happened to you, and she was trying to make you see things the same way."

Zero tried to respond, but X wouldn't let him. "Iris knew you had to stop Repliforce; you could never let reploids destroy all the human life on earth. But she hoped that, when forced to choose between what you wanted and the rest of the world, you would see that sometimes your needs are all that matter. When Iris met you on the Final Weapon, she knew you would fight her to the death; she knew you would choose the good of the many over what you wanted, despite how much it pained you. Your constant self-sacrificing was one of the things she loved about you the most, one of your greatest qualities. But you can't just continually ignore your own personal desires in favour of what the rest of the world wants. She thought that, by making you choose between her and the world, maybe it would open your eyes to the fact that sometimes you have to pick what you want instead of what's best for others, or you'll destroy yourself. She gave her life in an attempt to save you from yourself.

"That, Zero, is where you failed."

Zero was speechless. He sat on his rock, gazing out into the night, thinking about what X had said. For over a century Zero had carried the weight of Iris's death on his shoulders, keeping the pain inside, only to have it rise up and slap him in the face every time he failed to protect an innocent life. But he hadn't failed because he didn't protect her; he failed because he hadn't understood what she had tried to show him, and had let her throw her life away in vain while he crushed himself with guilt and despair.

_All I wanted was to be with her and make her happy, and I thought I failed. I failed to protect her and let that blind me to the fact that she didn't want to be protected. She saw that I was willing to sacrifice anything and everything for the good of all humanity and reploids, including her, and loved me for it. But she couldn't stand to watch me sacrifice myself for the good of everyone one piece at a time. She tried to save me, and I failed to see it._

The memory replayed in his mind. _Damn the Repliforce, damn the Maverick Hunters, and most of all, damn the humans who created us all! Nothing was worth this; nothing was worth more than her life... _If the Final Weapon had fired right then and wiped out all human life on Earth, he wouldn't have cared, because Iris wouldn't be there. She was all that mattered, and she was gone.

_She put it right in front of my face, and my own stubborn pride kept me from seeing it._

As the realization came to him, Zero felt like a great weight had been lifted from his soul. He no longer felt guilt at Iris's death – instead, only sorrow that he hadn't understood what she had been trying to say before it had cost her life.

But it was strange…Zero had never really gone into details with X about what happened on the Final Weapon that day. "X, how do you know all these things about Iris? And if you knew so much about it, why didn't you say anything before now?"

"That's my secret, for the moment," X replied with a mysterious smile and a hint of amusement in his voice. "Maybe I'll tell you when you're older," he said with a wink.

Zero knew that his friend would refuse to say anything more about the issue, so he simply gazed off into the night air, deep in thought about the night's revelations. X was content to simply sit by his friend, a comforting presence during a troubling time.

Finally Zero heaved a regretful sigh and said, "I'm glad Iris isn't here to see me right now. I've been acting like a complete fool ever since she died. She'd be ashamed of me, and rightly so."

"Really?" X replied. "I don't think she'd be ashamed at all. I think she'd be overjoyed that you've finally realized what she was trying to tell you, and that you've freed yourself from all the guilt you've needlessly burdened yourself with all these years."

X paused a moment before bringing up his next point. "Zero, your love for Iris wasn't a weakness."

Zero glanced sideways at his friend. "You were listening then," he said, thinking back to what he'd told Ciel in the lab.

"I've had my eye on you ever since they brought you back from the disposal center. I could tell something had happened up there," X tapped Zero on the side of the head, "and I wanted to make sure you were okay.

"Zero, your ability to love isn't the horrible weakness you've turned it into; it's your greatest strength. It's what separates a reploid from a maverick, and it's what gives you the strength to succeed where others fail. It doesn't matter whether what you're doing is right or wrong; fighting to protect someone you love or something you believe in gives you an incredible power, one that can't be matched or replicated, and there can be no greater cause. "Right" and "wrong" are subjective – what matters is what is important to you."

Zero nodded. "I think I see what you're saying…what Iris was trying to show me. Tried to make me see that neither the Maverick Hunters nor Repliforce were important, the only important thing was what I felt was right and what was important to me. When I wouldn't listen, she sacrificed herself to try and make me understand, but I was too arrogant to see it. She was fighting for what _she_ believed in most, and that was all that mattered." His shoulders sagged as he stared at the rocks by his feet. "Instead of running around being a good little Maverick Hunter like I was supposed to, I should have done what _I_ wanted to do, what I believed in."

_If I hadn't tried to force Colonel into disarming and coming back to Hunter HQ, if I hadn't stood by silently when HQ declared the entire Repliforce Maverick, maybe we could have avoided the entire thing. If I'd only listened to myself instead of what everyone else said, none of it might have happened._

He looked over at X and said, "How the hell did you get so smart?"

X chuckled to himself. "You don't live for over two hundred years without picking up on a few things. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself, you've no reason to. You've suffered more than your fair share and made up for it ten thousand times over. It's time to stop dwelling about the past and move on."

Zero smiled as he stood. "You're right of course. Thanks, X. Thanks for everything."

"Seeing you smile for the first time in over a hundred years is thanks enough," X replied. "It was a lonely hundred years without you, you know. I'm glad to have you back…I just wish it had been under better circumstances."

"No kidding." Zero's lips turned upward in a smirk. "I guess I'll just have to do my best to fix things then, won't I?"

X returned a smirk of his own. "That's the Zero I remember. It's good to see him again." X pushed himself to his feet and started to brush the dust from his legs, only to stop when he remembered he wasn't solid. "Force of habit," he said with a shrug. "Anyway, my work here is done; I should get going." The projection of X's body winked out, leaving only the glowing ball of light. "I'll be back again the next time you start acting stupid." The witty comment hung in the air as the orb of light slowly faded from view as well.

"Don't worry X, I can handle things from here." Zero turned and walked back into the Resistance base, full of newfound confidence in his abilities, and a determination to protect the people he believed in.

_When an obstacle comes, I will eliminate it._


End file.
